Monday, December 28, 2009

People who know me are probably fed up listening to these words but I'm gonna say it anyways, "good food are harmful to our health but are good for our soul" I call it "salvation". LOL. One of the main attraction in Hatyai is the food! These are some of the food I tried or noticed over there,

Coconut, unlike what we have here, this one is damn sweet and refreshing after a long shopping. Cost: 25 baht

Forgot what it's called, you can find it in Lee Garden first floor. Worth a try. Cost: 15 baht each!

Piglet...

Lok Lok the Thai style...

If you don't mind the dust, the sausages will make you salivate. At least I did!

Barbeque squid, it's available in Malaysia too but somehow it smells better there.

You may think it's eggs but it's not. Just the shell but inside is potato. Based on the presentation alone is worth something. But you must catch him cause he roams around the city.

Pork burger in Mc Donald, two tumbs down. I tried it for the sake of memory.

And I highly recommend these if you're in serious need of protein...

No. 1: Fried larva

No.2: Fried water scorpion

No.3: Fried crickets

Apart from food, I noticed that the Thai government did not really restrict the cultural growth in the city. Throughout the tourist attraction area, we could see loads on pirated products on sale. The clothes are damn cheap. This is the amount of money you need for a shirt...

Some are even cheaper...Cost: 50 baht or RM5 or approximately less than $2.

Some of us bought undergarment even it's too small/unsuitable for her...

The shops are lined next to each other, so it's time for a real bargain and heaven for girls....

Somehow, everything seem very nice and convenient there. There people are friendlier. There is a significant pool of culture which makes us believe it has existed for many many years. Even old Mc Donald is more courteous there....

Even thailand is not a petroleum producing country for merely 10 baht, this "taxi" will bring us wherever we wanna go. It costs RM2 for a ride in Penang buses. I went to KL last week, the taxi charged us RM30 to travel from Pudu to Cheras. Malaysia boleh.

It's for sale, but if you find it cute...you may stand and watch for hours. Free puppet show...

Money transfer is available in shopping mall. There's even seat for the customer. I feel ashamed of Malaysian shopping mall.

Sometimes, I find that they over did their facilities...this is found inside the male toilet. Or perhaps men in Hatyai need it...lol

Shrines are available at almost every corner of the street. And every shrine is brightly lighted up at night. They really love their god.

Pictures of their kings are erected at everywhere our eyes can reach. They are idolizing their king like god. Or is their king already god like?

Their handicraft are ever available for us to witness. It's like showing off their skills...

Crafting crystal glass...

Shoe design...cheap version...

They're even capable of massively turning man into wo-man.

There is a "Floating market" in Hatyai, don't get tempted, we'll never get to ride boats but rather buy from the boats at the sidewalk. For me, that's good enough...

The coconut water cost 20 baht and comes with a clay cup (vase).

Somehow this lady (with yellow scarf) can't seem stop smiling to me. I took 10 shots with her and she's still smiling to me....

Right before we came home, we were lucky enough to catch a glimpse of their parade right outside our hotel.... Oh when the saints come marching in....

So we snap photos and of coarse the idiot who came into our photo knowing we're posing are Malaysians. Again, Malaysia Boleh...

Children in cute dresses...

My friends grabbing sweets from the kids....bastards...

Santa or Grinch? lol

Overall, it's a superb trip given the cost involved. The city efficiently bled my wallet dry before letting me home...sob sob...it has grown into a tourist trap where everything worked out to lure more and more visitors. At least the people there kept their mind that way. I don't see Penangites mentality ever developing close to Hatyai in another millennium. The only strategy we're using here is, there's tourist, raise the price. It's kinda sad.

Many of my friends and colleagues kept on asking me the same question "did you watch tiger show?" "NO" I replied and they threw me a disapproving look. Even my father said this "why the hell you went to Hatyai if you didn't watch the bloody tiger show?" And my mom laughed.... sweat. Really really sweat...

Sunday, December 27, 2009

When we got landed in Hatyai, the very first thing I noticed was the "Tut Tut car". Thailand is very famous for that but we never get to feel the cuteness of the vehicle until it's right in front of us. Imagine a miniature nissan nevette with no hind door and with seats on the back....Having hard time imagining? See the photo lar.... This one is pretty high class with shaded side. Most tut tut has the back portion quite open, and when it rains, it's water splash festival for us.

For just 10 baht, it will take us wherever we wanna go. Beware tho, ask the price before you board the taxi!

Then we went to Lee Garden, one of the top hotel in Hatyai to have our lunch (or rather brunch). It was the the 33rd floor or the hotel.

Riding up to the tower was as if going to UK, where we had to exchange flights in Hong Kong. The elevator will only reach 10th floor and we have to exchange elevator twice to reach the top. We found ourself waiting for half hour before lunch was served. Actually it's all ready but they decided to let all of use wait *grrrr*. In the mean while, we snap some photos around the circular dining area overlooking the whole city. Kinda like revolving restaurant in City Baview.

For only 149 baht, I found that the food is more than acceptable. Have a look at some of the dishes...

We set up our own buffet on the long table. Man, I even had a tummy after that meal....It was sooooooooooo good!!!!

Monday, December 21, 2009

We stayed in Regency Hotel that's located right in the middle of Hatyai. So it's pretty convenient for us to travel everywhere plus all the "public transportation" available vastly in the city. What do I mean by "public transportation"? I'll tell you in a short while. Now let's talk about the hotel 1st. I can't help but to notice that everything over there was decorated. Perhaps it's a tourist spot that's why they wanna make it as attractive as possible.

I had difficulties locating the button for the elevator. Guess where is it? Yes, it's at the fish mouth.

Even the stray outside of the hotel was not spared!

We were stupid enough to visit the tourist packed destination during peak season plus Christmas is just around the corner. So, instead of getting classy hotel, we landed in Regency for a hefty rent of RM175/night for a double bedded room. So this is how our room looked like...

There's a "window" (more like a super sized glass panel) big enough overlooking the whole city. I think for safety sake, the management has locked the window plane. Look at the messy room after just one night, lol. The best thing about staying in hotel is, we never need to clean the room unless we're stupid enough. There's rooms service.

But was RM175/night worth it? There's no breakfast included, no newspaper. Apart from a complimentary sky juice, there's nothing else. I think the water was recycled from some drain or septic hole cause it tasted so salty, it might as well be water plus Sodium chloride. That's why it's complimentary I reckon. The bottle was glass by the way, which is rarely seen these days.

There were this tiny little insects (Psocids; lice) all over the way showing a sign of poor house keeping. Don't keep your mouth open when sleeping!

No matter how I try, I can never turn the tap off. There was mold growing on the bathtub and there is no way to adjust the temperature of the water....some how, it'll be either over heated of blizzardingx cold.

But in the end I decided, "the heck with it", we're not going to stay in the room for long. It's just for the night isn't it? Tips for future visitors, book your room damn early to secure a better accommodation. For RM175, we're sure to get better rooms if we're early enough!

The gang of Foreigners in Hatyai. See the fat guy on the left? Bring him along if you're going. He's a bargaining machine! lol